The Scarlet Water Lily
by kusachi-chan
Summary: Katara's confession of love to Zuko was rejected. Will she be able to move on and heal her wounded heart? Please R&R!


**The Scarlet Water Lily**

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own A:TLA nor the water lily. :P**_

**Genre: _Angst, Drama, Romance_**

**A/N: **_**Hello! I'm here with another fic... :)**_

_**I'm gonna continue writing "Don't Touch My Body", I promise. So please don't worry. :]**_

_**Part I is Katara's POV while the rest are not.**_

_**WARNING! Characters would be OOC…**_

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**Part I**

"I'm sorry."

These words are a comfort to a bleeding heart, an antidote to a hurting soul. It is music to the ears of someone who needed solace from the person they cared the most. It embraces the suffering beings.

"I'm sorry."

It kept ringing inside my head. As every second pass, it becomes louder and louder. It is as if a distorted CD was inside my head, playing and replaying these comforting words. Strangely enough, these wounded my young heart. Or was it even strange when I just got rejected?

"I'm sorry."

These words felt like a vinegar-and-salt-soaked knife was stabbed right through my chest. It was very painful, more painful than the injuries I got when fighting against the Fire Nation soldiers. The pain in my chest was very hard to bear that I had to curl up on my bed and cry like there is no tomorrow.

"Katara," a male voice, different from the one that kept pealing inside my head, called out. I felt a little relieved, knowing that I am still sane somehow despite the haunting voice inside my head.

"What do you want, Sokka?" I croaked. I groaned inwardly when I heard my voice. It was too obvious that I had been crying. I silently cleared my nose with a piece of cloth and wiped my tears hastily.

"Are you okay? Have you been… crying?"

I know that I cannot fool Sokka even when he is always an idiot. If ever I would lie, he would never believe me until he will see my face.

Sighing dejectedly, I said yes.

"Is it Zuko?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm. I remained silent.

"Why do you love that guy?" he continued after my silence. Silence means yes, I remembered. "He doesn't deserve your love, Katara. Just give up–"

"Shut up!" I shouted. I clenched my fist at my brother's tactless proclamation. "You're just saying that because after Princess Yue died, Suki was there to comfort you. What am I going to do then? Hang out in the bar and flirt?"

I scoffed. That was the silliest idea ever. "I won't let this unrequited love get in my way. I will live well. I will prove to you that I really am a great waterbender."

A deafening silence ensued after my outburst. I closed my eyes in order to cool myself, to contemplate upon the thing I had just done. I felt guilty at shouting at my brother even if I felt irritated.

With eyes still closed, I said, "I didn't mean to say that, Sokka. Well, except for the living well part. I… just don't want to hear his name… and my mistake."

I heard him snort. "I know. Just do what you told me, okay? That way, I will be assured."

Receding footsteps punctuated what he said to me. I crashed on my bed and opened my eyes slowly. My world went into a whirl but I ignored the dizzying sensation.

"I'll do it," I whispered.

**Part II**

A lone figure of a girl was seen walking towards the forest of the Earth Kingdom. Darkness started to invade and quietly drove the orange rays of the setting sun. A cold wind blew from the north and the girl wrapped her arms around her frail body as chills ran up and down her spine. The smell of white water lilies wafted across her nose as she neared a pond. She paused to sit down and get one bulb of the lily.

The forest was silent save for the persistent singing of the crickets and the hooting of a distant owl. She felt her body break a couple of cold sweat but paid no attention to it all.

"Mom," Katara whispered silently. "Mom… I have something to tell you."

She then started to tell her mother of the recent happenings in her life. She was finally considered as the best and the youngest waterbender in both the Northern and Southern Water Tribe. She looked down in the pond and almost gasped when she saw her animated carefree smiling face. The face reminded her of someone – someone who smiled brightly because of a girl who can't possible make anyone smile. Tears started to form in her eyes and her vision got blurry.

"Mom… why?" she whimpered, clutching her chest. The pain in her heart was throbbing and searing, threatening to extinguish her breath. She gasped for air as she continued to pour her heart to her departed mother. "Why? Why am I the only one who's crying?"

She waited for her mother to reply through signs in the natured but heard only an unsettling silence. Her heart was crushed. She felt so alone; nobody was there to share her pain. Everybody thought she was doing okay. Everybody believed the pretentious mask she is wearing.

-O-

"Katara?"

Sokka was standing outside Katara's room. It was already dinnertime and Sokka was getting impatient. Katara had not gone out from her room since her stroll and she should have been cooking dinner right now.

Sokka knocked at her door again but received no reply. Opening the door slowly, he apologized to Katara for violating her privacy and peeped. The room was bathed in soft moonlight and a gentle night breeze was blowing from the open window. He saw her sitting on a chair, her head resting on her table. He approached her cautiously but stopped when he saw something queer on the top of her desk.

"A scarlet water lily?" he said softly, puzzled. Keeping an eye at the flower, he pressed on. Suddenly, he felt something sticky and slimy under the sandal of his right foot. He looked down and saw a scarlet puddle on the wooden floor. He looked horrified as he stared at the substance on the floor, the stains on her table, and at the scarlet flower. With shaking hands, he yanked Katara and gasped.

A silver dagger was impaled on her cold stomach.

**Part III**

Katara's burial took place on a gloomy day. The sky was covered with dark clouds, threatening to pour torrents of rain on the mourners gathered at the Earth Kingdom cemetery. A chilly wind blew from the north.

Her body was supposed to be cremated and the ashes should have been thrown at the South Pole but due to convenience's sake, her family decided to just bury her in the Earth Kingdom.

Sokka was standing beside Hakoda near the coffin of Katara. Nobody knew the secret he and his father had been keeping, save for Gran-Gran, Grampakku, and the Water Tribe healers: the true cause of Katara's unfortunate death. They have told their friends that she was unfortunately struck by a hunter's arrow when he had mistaken her as an animal while in the forest.

Aang, Toph, and Suki were standing at the foot of Katara's coffin with grave expressions on their faces. Toph tried to keep her tears flowing as she hugged he sobbing Suki. Aang's face looked like the face of a defeated man. Sokka immediately looked away as his throat started to tighten and hurt.

He then spotted Zuko with Mai standing among the crowd of mourners. Tears were trailing down Zuko's face and Mai's expression was pained.

_Better save your crocodile tears, Zuko_, Sokka thought grimly as his sadness was replaced with anger. He turned his head back to stare at Katara who would never cry again.

-O-

The Fire Nation was in celebration. Laughter and happy chatter blended with the music-filled air. It was seven months after Katara's burial and Fire Lord Zuko is getting married with his sweetheart, Mai.

Zuko was roaming around the reception hall minutes before their wedding, making sure that everything will be going out fine. He knew that he should be relaxing in his room but he just couldn't rest. His whole body was itching to do something aside from sitting in the waiting room. He approached the gift corner and almost set in on fire.

"Who gave that one?" he asked rather angrily to a male servant standing nearby the moment he saw it.

"W-Which one, my lord?" the servant answered fearfully.

"That!"

"Oh. I-I didn't see her face, Your Majesty. She was wearing a veil. Even so, I think she's not from here."

Zuko muttered something about guards letting wedding crashers in, his eyebrows scrunching together. "Can you just… throw that away?"

The servant nodded and with trembling hands, he picked the white water lily painted with scarlet blood.

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_**This one's supposed to be a Halloween NaruHina fic… but I guess the Zutara pairing is okay and maybe it'll be a good read for Valentine's Day. :P**_

_**Please review (if ever you had any violent reaction or something going on inside your heads) or else scarlet water lilies would be left at your doorposts. :D**_

_**Anyway, have fun celebrating Valentine's Day!**_

_**kusachi-chan**_


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